Tuberc Respir Dis.  1988 Mar;35(1):49-54. 10.4046/trd.1988.35.1.49.

A Case of Proximal Tracheal and Laryngeal Tuberculosis Causing Acute Respiratory Failure

• KMID: 2528626
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4046/trd.1988.35.1.49

Abstract

Since endobronchial tuberculosis was first described in 1689, it remained infrequently reported until the era of bronchoscopy in 1930s and 1940s. However, tracheal involvement was rare then and remains so today. Tuberculous tracheobronchitis and laryngitis is probably almost always secondary to active pulmonary tuberculosis. Tuberculous tracheitis may be ulcerative or infiltrative at the inflammatory stage. A stenosis at this stage is due to inflammatory swelling, whereas in the healing phase it is mainly due to fibrosis. So it is a troublesome therapeutic problem due to its sequelae, i.e., cicatrical stenosis. Most of the tuberculous tracheitis are present just above the carina, and development of distal tracheal stenosis during treatment of tuberculosis has been recorded. It is thought to be related to the pathogenesis of tracheal tuberculosis, i.e., proximal extension of endobronchial tuberculosis with AFB-laden sputum. But proximal tracheal swelling with stridor which requires emergency tracheostomy cannot he found in literature except one case report. We report a case of proximal tracheal and laryngeal tuberculosis causing acute respiratory failure, which required emergency tracheostomy.